With police and nonpolice organizations moving toward adopting body-worn cameras (BWCs), it is important for local government managers to understand research and best practices from their peers who have already adopted and evaluated BWCs in their organizations, write Research Scientist Vivian Elliott and Assistant Police Chief Mike Kurtenbach in the November issue of Public Management (PM) magazine and the cover story “Cops and Body-Worn Cameras.”

The article describes findings and lessons learned from the Phoenix, Arizona, Police Department’s deployment of BWCs, including that cameras have tremendous value from an investigative standpoint and can capture spontaneous utterances, evidence, and situations that could not otherwise be recreated in a courtroom.

Here are more lessons learned:

• Include all appropriate city and county stakeholders.
• Develop a communitywide strategic plan.
• Collaborate with unions and community organizations.
• Proactively educate city partners in the technology.
• Increase attention on the needs of the city prosecutor’s office.

For Phoenix, BWCs appear to have produced greater arrest activity and significant reductions in complaints against officers (23 percent drop) when compared to officers in a comparison squad area that did not have cameras (10 percent increase).

The authors provide specific details on the lessons learned, and they explain that even though BWCs have tremendous value, public safety partners should be cautious in how quickly they deploy the technology.

Additional articles published in the November PM focus on retirement security, paperless financial transactions, organizational development, quick facts on local government employment, and more.